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An evacuation order rarely leaves time to think. Hurricanes give some warning. Floods and wildfires can give very little. The decisions that hold up are the ones made weeks ahead: what goes in the bag, what stays in the safe, and what’s already backed up.
This guide is about those decisions. For the full list of documents to gather, see our guide to protecting important documents from fire and water. For scanning and backups, see digital backups for important documents.
Your safety comes first. Always follow local officials’ evacuation orders, and never delay leaving to collect belongings.
Quick picks
See waterproof document pouches (paid link)
See emergency go-bag backpacks (paid link)
See encrypted USB flash drives (paid link)
Before the season: set up the plan
Ready.gov’s evacuation guidance starts with knowing your plan:
- Know your zone and route. Many states have designated evacuation zones and routes. Ready.gov suggests picking several destinations in different directions.
- Build a go-bag so you don’t have to scramble, and make sure everyone knows where it’s stored and who is responsible for it.
- Keep gas in the car. Ready.gov advises at least a half tank at all times, and a full tank if evacuation seems likely.
CAL FIRE’s wildfire evacuation guide adds one more step: keep your go-bag or emergency kit in the car, including “papers you need,” so you’re set to leave in a hurry.
Plan for less warning than you expect
How much time you get depends on the hazard, and it’s often less than people assume.
- Wildfires can move faster than warnings. CAL FIRE says that in big wildfires there may be no time for door-to-door warnings. It advises leaving right away when officials suggest it, and says it’s safer to leave before a mandatory order is issued.
- Storms are forecast, but roads still clog. Ready.gov says to leave early enough to avoid being trapped by severe weather, and to follow recommended routes rather than shortcuts that may be blocked.
- Get alerts. Ready.gov recommends signing up for alerts from local emergency management and the National Weather Service, and notes the FEMA app can show open shelters.
In practice, anything that needs time, like sorting papers, scanning, or moving valuables upstairs, should happen before the alert, not after it.
What goes in the go-bag (the documents and valuables part)
Ready.gov’s emergency kit list includes cash and important family documents, such as copies of insurance policies, identification, and bank account records, “saved electronically or in a waterproof, portable container.”
A practical documents-and-valuables layer:
- Copies, not originals, of key papers: IDs, insurance policies with phone numbers, and account information.
- Medical information. FEMA’s Safeguard Critical Documents and Valuables checklist includes medications, prescriptions, allergies, and doctors’ contact information.
- Cash in small bills. Ready.gov notes ATMs and cards may not work during a disaster. Our cash storage guide covers how much to keep.
- An encrypted USB drive with scans of everything, so the bag doesn’t have to carry paper for every document.
- A contact list on paper, in case your phone dies.
Put the papers in a waterproof pouch. A fire-resistant bag can help as a grab-and-go container, but read our fire bags vs. fire safes guide before trusting one with anything irreplaceable.
What to look for: a waterproof document pouch.
See waterproof document pouches (paid link)
What to look for: an emergency go-bag backpack.
See emergency go-bag backpacks (paid link)
What to look for: an encrypted USB flash drive.
See encrypted USB flash drives (paid link)
Decide now: what you’ll take vs. what stays in the safe
FEMA’s checklist asks you to think ahead about “the priceless personal items you would want to protect from damage or take with you if you had to suddenly evacuate your home.” Make that list before you need it, and keep it with the go-bag.
A tiered approach helps:
If you have minutes: people, pets, medications, the go-bag, phones, and chargers. Nothing else.
If you have more time: small, high-value, irreplaceable items from the safe. Examples include jewelry, original documents that are hard to replace, and family photos or keepsakes that fit in one small bag. Ready.gov’s evacuation guide and CAL FIRE’s both stress leaving early, so this tier only applies when officials haven’t told you to go now.
What usually stays: heavy items, things that are insured and replaceable, and duplicates you already have elsewhere. Bullion is a judgment call. It’s compact but heavy, and carrying it means guarding it on the road and wherever you stay.
Two rules keep this from going wrong:
- Don’t let the safe slow you down. If you can’t open it calmly in a minute or two, skip it.
- Don’t carry what you can’t protect. A bag of jewelry in a hotel room or shelter may be at more risk than in an anchored safe at home.
What a safe can and can’t handle
A safe that stays behind faces two very different threats.
Fire. A fire rating describes a specific test, not every fire. Our fire bags vs. fire safes guide explains why a safe rated for paper can still get too hot for drives and media inside. If the only copy of something matters, take it or make sure a copy lives outside the house.
Flood. Water ratings are limited too, often to a set depth and time. Our document protection guide covers how to read them. FEMA’s advice is simple: if you keep valuables in a basement, consider moving them to a higher location in waterproof containers. Ready.gov’s flood page says the same: move valuables to higher levels.
If your safe sits in a basement or on a ground floor in a flood zone, plan to take the most important small items with you, or move them upstairs when a storm is forecast.
Before you leave: prepare the safe
If time allows:
- Bag the contents. Put papers and photos in waterproof pouches inside the safe.
- Raise what you can. Move the most water-sensitive items to the top shelf.
- Lock it, and take the combination and keys with you. Don’t leave them in a drawer nearby.
- Photograph the contents for insurance. Our home inventory guide explains what to record.
Before you leave: prepare the house (it depends on the hazard)
Hurricanes and floods. Ready.gov’s evacuation guidance, if time allows:
- Close and lock doors and windows.
- Unplug electrical equipment such as radios, TVs, and small appliances. Leave freezers and refrigerators plugged in unless there’s a risk of flooding.
- Shut off water, gas, and electricity if there’s damage to your home and you’re instructed to do so.
- Leave a note saying when you left and where you’re going.
Wildfires. CAL FIRE gives different advice, built around helping firefighters:
- Close all windows and doors but leave them unlocked.
- Move flammable items to the middle of rooms, away from windows and doors.
- Turn off the gas at the meter and pilot lights.
- Leave lights on so firefighters can see the house in smoke.
That difference matters for valuables. If doors may be unlocked during a wildfire, anything worth stealing that stays behind belongs in a locked, anchored safe, not in a drawer. See how to anchor a safe to the floor.
Check insurance before it’s too late
Flood is usually separate. FloodSmart, the National Flood Insurance Program’s site, says most homeowners and renters policies don’t cover flood damage.
There’s a waiting period. FloodSmart says NFIP coverage generally takes effect 30 days after purchase. Exceptions include no wait if you buy while making, increasing, extending, or renewing a mortgage, and a one-day wait if a flood is caused or worsened by a wildfire on federal land and you buy within 60 days of containment. Don’t wait for the forecast.
Know what flood insurance won’t pay for. FloodSmart lists currency, precious metals, and valuable papers such as stock certificates among the items NFIP policies don’t cover, along with personal property kept in basements. That’s one more reason to take cash and small valuables with you, or move them upstairs.
Update the paperwork. Ready.gov’s hurricane and wildfire pages both advise making sure insurance policies and IDs are up to date, with copies kept in a secure, password-protected digital space.
When you come back
- Wait for clearance. CAL FIRE says not to return home until officials say it’s safe.
- Don’t open a safe that went through a fire. Brampton Fire and Emergency Services warns that a safe involved in a fire may hold intense heat for several hours. If the door is opened before it cools, incoming air plus the heat inside may cause the contents to burst into flames.
- Document everything before cleaning up, and contact your insurer.
Quick checklist
- Evacuation zone, routes, and several destinations known
- Go-bag packed, stored where everyone knows, with copies, cash, meds list, and an encrypted drive
- Written “take vs. leave” list kept with the go-bag
- Basement valuables moved up; safe contents bagged and raised
- Safe locked; combination and keys with you
- Hazard-specific home steps (locked for hurricanes and floods; closed but unlocked for wildfires, per CAL FIRE)
- Flood insurance bought well ahead of storm season
- No opening a fire-exposed safe until it has fully cooled
Bottom line
The best evacuation decisions are made long before the order comes. Keep copies and cash in a go-bag. Decide in advance which few items from the safe you’d take. Raise or waterproof what stays behind, and get insurance and backups sorted before the season starts. When it’s time to go, go.
Sources
- Ready.gov — Evacuation (zones and routes; alerts and FEMA app; go-bag storage and responsibility; gas; leave early; avoid shortcuts; lock doors and windows; unplug equipment; refrigerators and flood risk; utilities; leave a note). https://www.ready.gov/evacuation
- Ready.gov — Build a Kit (cash; copies of insurance, ID, and bank records saved electronically or in a waterproof, portable container). https://www.ready.gov/kit
- Ready.gov — Financial Preparedness (small amount of cash at home in small bills; ATMs and cards may not work). https://www.ready.gov/financial-preparedness
- FEMA — Safeguard Critical Documents and Valuables (FEMA P-1096) (document checklist; priceless items to take; fireproof and waterproof storage; move basement valuables higher in waterproof containers). https://www.ready.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/fema_safeguard-critical-documents-and-valuables.pdf
- Ready.gov — Floods (waterproof container for documents; password-protected digital copies; move valuables to higher levels). https://www.ready.gov/floods
- Ready.gov — Hurricanes (keep insurance and ID up to date; copies in a secure, password-protected digital space). https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes
- Ready.gov — Wildfires (review important documents; password-protected digital copies). https://www.ready.gov/wildfires
- CAL FIRE — Go! Evacuation Guide (go-bag in the car; no time for door-to-door warnings; leave before a mandatory order; close windows and doors but leave them unlocked; move flammables; gas off; lights on; return only when cleared). https://www.readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/go-evacuation-guide/
- FloodSmart (National Flood Insurance Program) — Buy a Flood Insurance Policy (most homeowners and renters policies don’t cover flood; 30-day waiting period and exceptions; currency, precious metals, valuable papers, and basement contents not covered). https://www.floodsmart.gov/get-insured/buy-a-policy
- Brampton Fire and Emergency Services — After the Fire booklet (don’t open a safe involved in a fire until it cools; contents may ignite). https://www.brampton.ca/EN/residents/Fire-Emergency-Services/Fire-Safety/Documents/After%20The%20Fire%20Booklet.pdf